Method of sanitary landfilling

ABSTRACT

CITY DUMPS, PARTICULARLY A LANDFILLING OPERATION, UTILIZING CITY AND INDUSTRIAL TRASH WHICH IS COMPACTED, MOISTENED, SPRAYED WITH INSECTICIDE AND MORTICED WITH A CLEAN EARTH LAYER TO DEVELOP A LANDFILL SUITABLE FOR RECREATION OR BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY.

Oct. 26, 1971 T. NIEMAN 3,614,867

METHOD OF SANITARY LANDFILLING Filed Feb. l5, 1970 2 SheetS-Shcnt l ATTORNEY @at 26, WH T. NIEMAN 3,614,86W

METHOD OF SANITARY LANDFILLING Filed Feb. 1.3, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet :3

INVENTOR w/f/ Mn/MM ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,614,867 METHOD F SANITARY LANDFILLING Tom Nieman, Sedalia, Colo., assignor to Landfill, Incorporated, Commerce City, Colo. Filed Feb. 13, 1970, Ser. No. 11,164 Int. Cl. EOZd 3/12 ILS. Cl. 61-35 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE City dumps, particularly a landfilling operation, utilizing city and industrial trash which is compacted, moistened, sprayed with insecticide and morticed with a clean earth layer to develop a landfill suitable for recreation or both residential and commercial construction activity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the invention A great deal of recent attention has been given to the development of a landfill which eliminates the conventional necessity for burning of trash, yet is both rodentfree and insect-free. Earlier inventors have attempted to compact and moisten such a landfill, but have given little or no attention to the method of moistening or the method of compacting, so as to develop the desired permanent density. i

(2) Description of the prior art Holland 2,015,361 is most pertinent, in contemplating the compacting and wetting of garbage fill to obtain a dense, rodent-free base. Holland applied an asphalt layer intermediate compacted layers of garbage.

The present invention distinguishes from Holland in the developing of a graded incline, to facilitate moistening without runoff, penetrating irregularly the compacted waste with spiked rollers so as to break down the trash layer, and morticing the compacted and moistened layer with a clean earth fill.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION According to the present invention a sanitary landfill is developed by first grading the area to be filled as a gradual incline, then spreading the refuse continuously over the incline while irregularly penetrating and compacting the refuse so as to break the refuse into a compacted layer approximately two and one half feet thick. Uniform moistening short of saturation is effected by sprinkling with water. Modifications of invention include pumping of insecticide into the moistening water, varying the degree of moistening so as to compensate for ambient temperature, relative humidity and snow conditions, as well as the industrial or residential character of the refuse being treated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. lA-lD are a schematic view of the steps involved in developing the sanitary landfill upon a graded incline;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a device used for compacting the waste, while irregularly penetrating the waste with its spiked rollers indiscriminately; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical section of a landfill developed according to present method and embodying alternate layers of compacted and moistened waste morticed with a clean earth fill.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is described in its utilization as a landfill operation developed at a city dump. The area to be landfilled is first graded as a ten to fifteen degree incline having a level portion at its top for positiong of the dump trucks as they dump their fill upon the incline.

There follows a proposed around the clock schedule: 0800: Commence dumping of refuse via tr-uck onto the top of the incline, while penetrating and compacting the layers continuously during dumping.

1500: Moistening of the refuse by sprinklers running transversely of the landfill at approximately twenty foot intervals.

0600: Cease moistening as appropriate. Mortice with a layer of clean earth fill.

0800: Dumping commences again.

Residential wastes are conventionally seventy percent paper and thirty percent other materials, including garbage. Industrial wastes are conventionally ninety percent paper and ten percent other material. The degree of moistening may be varied accordingly to the amount of paper, as well as the relative humidity and temperature factors. Manifestly, the degree of incline is not critical, however, it must not be steeper than that which can be worked by the type of vehicle illustrated in FIG. 3. As the earth fill is completed, an insecticide may be pumped into the moistening sprinkler system at the rate of one gallon of insecticide per 45,000 gallons of water. The completed fill may be covered in the morning with three feet of compacted cleaner. The earth is not moistened but simply compacted upon the ll of trash and allowed to serve as a mortice therefor.

The degree of compaction may be tested by an conventional device, s-uch as a nuclear density probe. In one study there was found to have occurred only two inches of settlement in a two hundred foot fill after more than two months.

The compaction and penetration also reduces the development of gases such as methane, nitrogen and oxygen. Conventionally, large amounts of nitrogen and methane may be developed. Compaction and penetration eliminate the dangerous methane build up. Sprinkling is done by a plurality of laterally` spaced and longitudinally staggered sprinklers rotating in a complete circle, so as to afford uniform distribution. The moistening is critical n that it must be suicient to break down paper fibers in the refuse but not saturate so as to run off and cause pollution. Moisture in the compacted trash is reduced by icing conditions which are equivalent to evaporation loss in summer time. Thus, in icy conditions increased moistening is sometmes required.

Conversely, as snow may fall on the trash fill, the amount of moistening may be reduced to compensate for the ultimate melting. Manifestly, the moistening may also be keyed to total ann-ual rainfall. For example, in the Colorado area annual rainfull is in the range 13 to 14 inches, whereas in the Washington, D.C. area average annual rainfall is 33 inches.

Similarly demolition waste includes a high degree of lime, mortar and cement. It is found that a lesser amount of moistening, for example five gallons per cubic yard of refuse prior to compacting, sufficiently solidifies the demolition waste so that it is readily compacted. Demolition waste which includes a large amount of Iwood, does not readily absorb water and, therefore, should be compacted at a site separate from convention-al trash. Manifestly, the amounts of water and insecticide may be varied Without r departing from the spirit of invention.

I claim:

1. Method of sanitary landfilling comprising:

(A) cutting the earth to be landfilled as a graded gradual incline;

(B) spreading refuse over said graded incline;

(C) irregularly penetrating and compacting said refuse 3 upon said incline, so as to break said refuse into an inclined, compacted layer 11/2 to 3 feet deep; and

(D) sequentially of compacting, uniformally moistening by sprinkling said refuse short of saturation in the range of five to twelve gallons of water per cubic yard of refuse, while eliminating localized areas of excess water accumulation and while preventing uncontrolled excess water runoff; 'and (E) adding insecticide while moistening at the approximate rate of one gallon of insecticide per 45 thousand gallons of water.

2. Method of sanitary landlling as in claim 1, wherein said moistening is limited to within the saturation point of said refuse, so as to prevent moisture runoff from said graded incline.

3. Method of sanitary landlling as in claim 1, including wherein said moistening is reduced as relative humidity increases.

4. Method of sanitary landlling as in claim 1, wherein said moistening is increased, as relative humidity drops.

5. Method of sanitary landfilling as in claim 1, wherein said moistening is varied to compensate for icing within the landfill.

6. Method of sanitary landlling as in claim 1, wherein said moistening is reduced to compensate for snow which may have fallen upon the compacted layer.

7. Method of sanitary landlling as in claim 1, wherein said compacting is under an approximate pressure of 2,045 pounds per lineal inch of surface striking ground.

8. Method of sanitary landfilling as in claim 1, wherein said moistening is correlated to average annual rainfall so as to maintain said moistening within the desired range.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,935,090 11/1933 Holland 61--35 2,015,361 9/1936 Holland. 2,760,820 8/1956 Cirese 233-310 X 3,184,924 5/1965 Stanau. 3,352,115 11/1967 Jurisich. 3,446,026 5/1969 Fikse.

20 JACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. XR. 61-3 

